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7 February 2003 |
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RESIDENTS and councillors have called for Mildenhall air fete to be cancelled this year amid fears it could become a potential terrorist target. Chairman of Beck Row Parish Council Cllr Philip Haylock said the majority of councillors felt this year's air show should be cancelled fearing the base and surrounding area could become vulnerable to a possible terrorist attack. "The majority of my members don't think it would be a good idea to hold the air show this year because of the threat of what may or not happen due to the current world situation," he said. "They also thought it would be a bit of a travesty to invite people on to the base if roads remained closed," Cllr Haylock said. "It is our job (as a council) to represent the views of the people of the parish. I have spoken to only one person who disagrees but to numerous people who think the fete just can't happen this year," he said. Cllr Haylock has asked for the council's feelings to be conveyed to the base. Mary Crane, Suffolk county councillor for Beck Row and West Row, agreed. "I fully endorse the view that it is not in the best interest of the local community and it's unnecessary for the air show to go ahead in light of the present climate. "Thousands of people attend the show over the two days and in my view, in light of the security checks that would be required, it could present an opportunity to some people that needn't be presented," she said. Chairman of Mildenhall Parish Council Cllr Gerald Taylor-Balls said he thought the air show should go ahead but agreed that the Iraq situation could alter things. "I think it is a very difficult decision for the air base to make but I think, at the moment, it should go ahead, rather than give in to them," he said. "You are talking about 4-500,000 visitors and that is a lot of enthusiasts," he added. A spokesman for RAF Mildenhall said: "We are planning on having our fete at the end of May. If anything was to change, we would let everyone know as soon as possible." A police spokesman said: "Suffolk Police are working with the organisers of the event and working out a plan to minimise disruption to the local community as much as possible." If the show is cancelled, there will not be another until 2005 because runway resurfacing work will mean there is no show next year.
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7 February 2003
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RAF MILDENHALL, England — The local parish council has asked the 100th Air Refueling Wing to cancel the giant air show its holds every May. The council said holding Air Fete and allowing hundreds of thousands of people on base would be inconsistent with security measures in place since the terror attacks on America 17 months ago. Word was sent to the base command via Squadron Leader Christopher Chaplin, the Royal Air Force commander at the base who attends the Beck Row council meetings. The town of Beck Row is the base’s home. “We sent a representative to say that we don’t think [Air Fete] was the sort of thing that local people would accept or be pleased to see,” said Philip Haylock, the parish council chairman. He said the vote of the nine-member council was not unanimous, but the decision was approved by “a healthy majority.” The issue is the contradiction between the tightened security around the base, which inconveniences local residents, and allowing up to 400,000 people on base for the two-day air show, billed as the largest military air show in Europe. “It seems odd,” Haylock said, that the base doesn’t think the air show would present a significant increase in risk compared with normal daily life around the base. “It doesn’t strike us as consistent,” he said. A base spokesman said the message had been received, but no decision has been made to cancel the air show, which began more than 25 years ago as a way to show appreciation to the British community. “At this point, we’re still planning for Air Fete to happen in May,” said Capt. Shane Balken, the base public affairs officer. “We want to do it.” The base will not discuss specifics, but increased security measures are planned, including the absence of parking on the base, as has been done in past years. Security measures related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have angered local residents around RAF Mildenhall and nearby RAF Lakenheath. Roads have been blocked off. Traffic backs up at the base entrances on many mornings. “I’ve been in [the traffic] and sat like a lemon for 10 minutes,” said Laurie Wallace, a parish council member. Wallace has lived for 18 years on Waterworks Road, a dead-end street that divides RAF Mildenhall in two. Since the terrorist attacks, the street has been blocked off by Ministry of Defence police and access has been restricted, putting residents, in effect, on the base. Wallace said he feels like he is in a “maximum security” prison. “Yet you’re going to throw the whole [base] open to have an Air Fete?” he said. “It’s ridiculous.” He said the decision should not be viewed as anti-American. Everyone agrees that the attacks were a tragedy of epic proportions. But, he said, to hold Air Fete in such an environment is a questionable decision. “To my mind, that’s not consistent,” he said. Haylock said local people enjoy the air show and it does have benefits for some businesses in the area. But the environment this year seems to make cancellation the best option in the minds of the parish’s constituents. “We would be failing in our duties if we didn’t take into account the wishes of the people we represent,” he said. The air show will not be held next year because of planned runway repairs. It has been canceled in recent years due to operational reasons. In 1999, it was canceled for the first time in its history because of the ongoing campaign to shove the Serbs from Kosovo. The show was not held last year because of the war on terror in Afghanistan. With the possibility of war with Iraq on the horizon, there is reason to believe the show will be canceled again this year. Balken said, “We’re going to watch as current events unfold.”
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